


The Promise

by melanoradrood



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Dark, F/M, FF.net to AO3, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 03:23:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11394342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melanoradrood/pseuds/melanoradrood
Summary: Warning : This is Dark. Mature. Includes NonCon. Serious Angst here. Klaroline.





	The Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Old fic from FF.net that needed to be on AO3.

Caroline felt as though she had been tossing and turning all night. No matter how many times she fluffed her pillow, cuddled her teddy, or rearranged her blankets, she still couldn’t fall asleep. It had been like this for a week now. Ever since the gang had gotten back from the island. All she wanted was a good night’s rest. She shifted again and pulled her legs up to her body. One more shrug of her shoulders and letting her head hit the pillow, and she finally fell asleep.

She knew this was a dream. Deep down in the pit of her stomach, she knew that she was dreaming. It changed nothing, though. She couldn’t stop herself from running. She was running with all of her vampire speed, as if she was stalking her prey. She didn’t know who the prey was, but she had a stake in her hand. 

Suddenly she felt on top of the world, as though all the strength of the earth coursed through her blood. She had always been a strong vampire, even for a baby, but this was a new level. She could see Klaus in the distance, and somehow her speed overtook him. She tackled him to the ground and he was unable to fight her as she held him down.

And then she realized, he was her prey. Her hand was raised to stake him, and she couldn’t stop it. She tried to fight against it, but there was something pushing her. It reminded her so much of what Damon had done, compelling her to let him feed. She realized then that she had been compelled. She had been compelled to kill Klaus.

She tried to release her grip on the dagger, but it was impossible to fight. She looked down at Klaus and their eyes locked. He looked heartbroken, so sad, and she tried to open her mouth to tell him she was compelled. It wouldn’t come out. The tears began to stream down her face, and no matter how hard she fought, she couldn’t stop it.

He was pinned beneath her and she raised the stake and plunged it into his heart. A tear was rolling down Klaus’ cheek as he looked up at her. His mouth was trying to form words, and she heard “I... love... you...”

The tears were streaming down her face, and she saw him starting to gray. A fire began where the stake had entered his heart, and she wanted to pull it back out. She tried to grab onto it to pull it out, but the compulsion stopped her.

She stood there, watching him die, and then her eyes opened. She sat up in the bed and felt her cheeks covered in tears. She had been compelled to kill Klaus, and it was in that moment, she knew that this game they had been playing for far too long was over. Silas was on the loose, the cure was with Katherine, and Tyler was gone.

Across town, Klaus was having a hard time sleeping. His younger brother was dead, Rebekah was still searching for the cure, and Elijah wouldn’t answer his phone. He was all alone. No matter what he did in life to protect his family, it was never enough. He still ended up all alone. His mind went back to the night he saved Caroline from his anger, and the next night when he told her that everything he did was for her. Maybe she couldn’t see it, but after a thousand years of evil, he was doing his best for her. And it still, once again, wasn’t enough.

He got out of bed and went to one of the couches in his room. He poured himself a glass of scotch and sat back, sipping at it. The burn was a familiar one down his throat, and he let his eyes drift shut. Maybe sitting like this, he could finally fall asleep.

He felt drugged as he opened his eyes, and saw metal bars in front of him. He could feel the burn of vervain and wolfsbane on his arms and legs, and realized he was chained against a wall. Through the metal bars, he could see Caroline tied up much the same, and a werewolf bite festering on her neck. She looked as though it was nearing the end, and no matter how much he tried to tug at the chains, he couldn’t get out.

He remembered, then, that he had bit her, only this time, he hadn’t been able to stop it. What could possibly make him unable to control his own body? Could have forced him to bite the woman that he opened himself up to for the first time in a thousand years. He could see the tears running down her face and realized they were running down his as well.

Her rasps were starting to grow more often, and her eyes were starting to shut. He tugged harder at the chains and tried to call out to her, to tell her to hold on, but he realized he couldn’t speak. She was smiling at him now, even in her pain, even in her death, at the sight of him trying to get to her. Her words were just a breathy whisper, but he relished in hearing them. “I would have forgotten everything you had done, eventually.”

He fought harder, and then he saw her body go limp. The gray took over what was normally glowing and full of the beautiful light that radiated from her, and he knew she was dead. He pulled harder, feeling the wall behind him creek, but he couldn’t get himself out. He screamed, a heart shattering scream, trying to fight against the chains. He had to touch her, to save her. He could still save her. He couldn’t give up. His screams grew louder, and when he couldn’t scream anymore, he broke down, sobbing. He had lost her. 

Klaus sat up so fast on the couch that he knocked over his glass, but he didn’t care. He had to see her. He had to make sure she was alright. He didn’t care if she wouldn’t see him, would only yell, or worse, would ignore him. All he had to do was see she was alive. Just for a moment, and it would be enough. Just knowing she was alive would always be enough for him. 

Caroline had just finished pulling on a pair of tennis shoes when she heard a knock at the front door. She opened it and saw a breathless Klaus. He was wearing only a pair of pajama bottoms but he didn’t seem to care. Their eyes locked and she ran to him and hugged him. He seemed startled at first, but then held her tight. She began to sob in his arms and he stroked her hair, trying to calm her.

“Caroline, what’s wrong?”

“I had this dream, and I couldn’t help it, and I’m so sorry. I tried to stop myself, to fight it, but it wasn’t enough.” Klaus had gone rigid, then pulled back from her. His face was covered in shock and she wiped the tears off her face. Why was he looking like he had just seen a ghost?

“You had a dream where you killed me?” She nodded her head, and a fresh wave of tears burst from her. He pulled her close and stroked her hair while she cried into his chest. “I had one too. Caroline, I had to come see, and make sure you were alright.”

They held on to each other for a moment, her tears finally slowing, and then he was just standing on her front step, stroking her hair. Her fingers were digging into his back but he didn’t seem to care. She finally pulled away from him, then grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the house. He let her, and she shut the door behind him after he was in.

She didn’t let go of him and she started walking through the kitchen, then into the living room. They walked up the stairs, down the hallway, and then she was bringing him inside her bedroom. She shut the door behind him, even though her mom wasn’t home, and then they were standing there, staring at each other.

She took a step forward and touched his chest, right above his heart, and Klaus closed his eyes. She raised her other hand and rested it on his shoulder. Her body was so close to his, she could feel the heat coming off of him that belonged to a hybrid. His hands were close to her hips but they weren’t touching. His words were just a whisper. “Caroline...”

She went up onto her tippy toes and let her lips graze his. His eyes shot open at the touch, and then his hands were gripping her hips and carrying her to the bed. She was already on her back by the time she knew what was happening, and then Klaus was kissing her. He ripped open her shirt and her breasts were free, and she wasn’t quite certain what was happening. 

“Klaus,” she said, and then his hand was covering her mouth. She struggled against him and then her shorts were gone as well. She felt a finger slide inside of her and she screamed out. His eyes dilated over her, and he said, “Do not scream. Do not try to escape. Enjoy this.”

And then his pants were gone as well. She felt him slam another finger into her and she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. She was being raped, by Klaus, and his compulsion was forcing her to enjoy it. Her bottom lip was quivering, and then Klaus was shoving himself roughly inside of her. She looked away from him, unable to stand looking at the man she had given a chance to, using her so terribly.

She had thought nothing would ever be as bad as Damon using her. No matter what Klaus had done in the world, he had never hurt her or used her as bad as Damon. Klaus had almost killed her, and yet he was still better to her than Damon was. And now, he wasn’t. Everyone had warned her, that Klaus was evil, and she hadn’t believed it. Not after spending time with him.

Her legs were hiked around his waist and his hands were roughly grabbing her breasts. She wanted to scream, and instead it came out as a moan. Her hands clapped over her own mouth, horrified. She didn’t want to enjoy this, and yet she had to. There was nothing that could stop her from moaning again and getting wetter around him.

His motions were fast and hard and Caroline prayed for death. She wanted to die. After a year and a half of fighting the supernatural, this was the end of it. There had been a whole big world for her to see, filled with beauty and art, and Klaus was going to show it to her. Instead, he was showing her how dark and full of evil the world was. How, at the end of the day, nothing good was left. 

She wanted to turn her emotions off. She needed to turn them off. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. That was all she had left. All she really could cling to. At the end of the day, she still had her humanity. She wouldn’t give that up to Klaus as well.

He pulled out of her and she silently thanked god it was done, and then he flipped her over. Part of her was overjoyed to be taken from behind, but deep down, she felt disgust. He was using her. Using her body. He was raping her. He was killing her. She buried her face into her pillow and let the tears roll down. A hand gripped her hair and pulled her up so she could no longer cling to her pillow, and she let the tears roll down freely.

“Say it, Caroline. Say who it is that is using you. Moan it.” She tried to fight the compulsion already on her, but she couldn’t help it. The words came out in a quiet moan, and she felt shame fill her. 

“Say it again, Caroline, and this time say it while you orgasm around me. Know that I gave you this pleasure, no matter how hard you tried to fight.”

Caroline tried to resist, but she couldn’t help it. Her body started to shake and she felt the orgasm building up. Her walls were gripping on to him and she sobbed out, wanting this to stop. She felt herself reaching the brink, and then she was falling over it, screaming his name.

And then her window shattered, and standing there was Klaus. 

She could feel the Klaus on top of her finishing inside of her, but the Klaus that had just come bursting in was standing there in shock, staring at her. She tried to reach out to him, not caring which Klaus was real, just knowing that nothing could be worse than what was going on above her. There was shock written on the newcomer’s face, then disbelief, and then anger. So much anger, and she knew then this was really Klaus. She didn’t know who had just raped her, and she didn’t care. She still couldn’t move.

The man that had just taken advantage of her pulled out and stepped away from her, and she fell flat onto her stomach, unable to do anything else. She was still compelled. “Thank you, Caroline. You’re free.”

The compulsion washed over her body and she let out a sob that had been held in for too long. She flipped over and curled up on herself, still seeing the evil sneer on her rapist’s face. He was now standing, facing the Klaus that had burst into the window. Klaus’ hybrid face was out and he looked ready to destroy the man that had touched her. The man just laughed and disappeared. 

Klaus was shaking as the hybrid face subsided, and she knew he was trying to keep his wolf at bay. Caroline grabbed her blankets and wrapped them around her body. She was shaking uncontrollably, trying to grasp what in the hell had just happened. She sobbed out again, and she could see Klaus walking towards her. She shrieked out and roll off the bed, falling hard, and trying to get into the corner. 

He stopped in his steps and looked down at her. She was terrified of him. All he wanted was to comfort her, to hold her, to take it all away. She was crying harder, and there was nothing he could do. She had just been raped, and from what he gathered, forced to enjoy it. He could only guess that he had just seen Silas, and it destroyed him that Caroline had been hurt in the process of the ancient evil trying to hurt him.

“Caroline, sweetheart. I know you’re scared right now, but you can’t stay here. My house is spelled so he can’t get in.”

She looked up at him in shock, realizing that whoever that was could come back. She didn’t know how he was able to come inside without an invitation, and she was no longer safe in her own home. She tried to stop her tears, to gather herself enough to get dressed and leave, but there was no strength left in her body. She nodded her head, then curled up smaller.

Klaus nodded back at her, then began looking around. Clothes. He needed to find clothes. He started pulling out her drawers and jerked on one too hard. It fell to the floor and he heard Caroline shriek behind him. He turned and looked at her and saw how scared she was from just that noise. He looked down at the drawer, then changed his mind. He would just give her some of his clothes. 

He looked on her bed and saw her teddy. It was still lying there, against her pillows. He could so clearly remember tucking that in with her, the night he had saved her from Tyler’s bite. She would want that. He looked around and saw her phone. He grabbed that too, then started spinning. What else would she need? He couldn’t let her come back here, not until Silas was gone.

“Back of my closet,” he heard her whisper, and he turned to look at her. Her eyes were red and her face was covered in dry tears, but no more fresh ones were running down them. She raised a hand and pointed towards the closet. He went to it, and opened it up. Looking in the back of the closet, he found a small box. He opened it to find... the drawing. She had kept it. And the little notes he had written her. 

There was another box below it, and he opened it to find pictures. Pictures of her friends. Her family. Tyler. He closed the lid, then looked to see if there was anything else. “Which box, Caroline?”

Her words were the biggest breath of fresh air he had ever felt pass over them. “Both of them.”

He brought the boxes out to her bed and set them beside her teddy and her phone. He looked around again, and could think of nothing else she needed. She was standing now, wrapped up in her blanket still, and she gave him a jerky nod. He reached out his hand to her and she flinched away.

Klaus picked up the boxes, slid the phone into his pocket, and offered the teddy bear to her. She took it and hugged it close to her chest. They walked towards the broken window, and he could see Caroline was scared to leave the house. She was looking around, as if trying to find a sign that someone was out there.

“Will we be safe?” she asked, and he tried to find some words to comfort her. He wanted to hold her, tell her it would be okay, but she was scared to even touch his hand. 

“I’ll be right beside you the whole way. Run as hard as you can, and don’t stop until we are inside. We will be safe once we get there.”

Caroline nodded, and then she took off. Klaus stayed beside her, the whole way, and when they were inside the house, she fell onto her knees, still clinging to her bear. He set the boxes down on the table, then didn’t know what to do. What could he do? How could he make things better?

“Would you like something to drink? Bourbon? Wine? Some blood?”

“A shower,” she whispered out, and he began to lead the way. His feet let him to his bedroom unconsciously, and he stopped. He could offer her another room, but he wasn’t quite sure the state of them. His room had the biggest bed, the nicest bathroom, and the remnants of a fire still going inside. He didn’t care. She would stay in his room, and he would sleep outside her door if that would comfort her. Anything to make her feel safe.

He opened up the door and stepped in. He could tell that she had stiffened at the sight of his room, and he stepped away from the door. She walked in slowly and looked around. Maybe bringing her to his room was a bad idea. Any room with a bed. “It’s my room, but I know it’s the nicest, and I will sleep in another room, I just wanted you to be comfortable.”

He was rambling and then stopped when she looked up at him and shook her head. He just nodded back, not quite sure what their body language was saying but he knew that she was alright being in this room. He went to the bathroom door and opened it, then pulled out two towels for her. He came back into his bedroom and found a long sleeve shirt and a pair of drawstring sweatpants. After folding them up and setting them on the bathroom counter, he stepped back.

She looked around the room again, then looked down at the floor. He nodded to himself then stepped back towards the door. “I’m going to rebuild the fire and then I’ll leave you alone the rest of the night if you want. If there is anything you need, just ask.”

“Don’t leave me alone,” she whispered, and he nodded his head.

“Alright.”

Caroline went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. It was nice and hot before she finally set down her teddy bear on the bathroom counter and dropped the blanket she had wrapped around her body. She stepped under the water, and broke down. Her body was sliding onto the tile floor of the shower, and she cried. She cried for herself, for the first time in far too long.

She cried because Damon had abused her. She cried because her father hated she was a vampire. She cried because she had been tortured, time and again. She cried because Tyler had left her, and because no one seemed to notice she still existed. She cried because she had been raped, and forced to enjoy it. She cried because she was in Klaus’ bathroom, losing her mind. She cried because he was the only person that cared, and she still didn’t feel safe. She cried because she had thought she finally kissed him, and now she was too scared to touch his hand.

It killed Klaus, standing downstairs, listening to her crying. All he wanted was to hold her in his arms and take away all the pain. He wanted to save her from herself. He could see her light dwindling. He didn’t know how it all happened, but he would never let her be harmed again. He would destroy the world before he saw another tear on her face.

He pulled out his phone and called Elijah first. His brother answered on the third ring, saying he was busy, but Klaus talked over him. He kept the details short, but said that Silas had attacked Caroline, and that he wanted Silas dead, now. That he had to find the cure so that he could keep Caroline safe. Elijah agreed to get the cure from Katherine and to use it on Silas. It seemed his brother recognized the brokenness in his voice.

The next call was to a witch in New Orleans. She was powerful and always had a way of creating the right spell for the situation. He explained that he needed a way to always show the truth and the true identity. To protect against compulsion and dream manipulation. Something that could protect even him. She promised to come as fast as possible and do the spell.

She was still upstairs crying, and he stared at his phone. He couldn’t help her. She was scared to death of him, and he knew why. She had been raped by Silas using his body. He couldn’t even believe she had come with him to his house. That alone showed how broken she was, that she hadn’t even tried to fight. He could do nothing for her, but Stefan could.

He dialed the number and waited. A groggy Stefan answered, and Klaus chose his words carefully. “Caroline was attacked by Silas. She is alive, but she isn’t alright. I need you to come over to my house. She is here, right now.”

There was a silence over the phone, and then he heard Stefan sigh. “I’m... I left Mystic Falls. I’m in Germany right now.”

Klaus just nodded and hung up. Of course he was. No one cared about Caroline anymore, except him. He was tired of seeing her constantly forgotten. Maybe if someone cared enough about her, she wouldn’t have been attacked. She would have been fine. Someone could have protected her. He would never fail her like they had.

His steps were slow as he walked back up to his room. He could hear that the water was turned off, but she was still in the bathroom. He put a few pieces of wood onto the fire and blew on it to help it catch. The door opened behind him and he turned around, slowly. Caroline was standing there, her wet hair loose down her back, his shirt and pants on her, and her teddy bear gripped in her arms.

He didn’t know what to say, so he stepped away from the fireplace. The sofa he had slept on earlier was in front of it, and he picked up the glass he had knocked over. She walked over to it slowly and sat down, then looked up at him, almost expectantly. He sat down on the other end of it, and a silence settled over them.

“Is there anything I can get for you, Caroline? Anything in the world. Just name it, and I- I’ll do it.”

Her voice was rough, as if there was no life left in her. “I’m guessing that was Silas.”

She was always so smart. He was proud of her for figuring that out. It had taken him a few minutes to realize it, but who else could it be. “Yes. He did it to punish me, I think. I had a dream that you died and I couldn’t save you, and then when I came to your house, I was... I was too late to save you.”

She nodded her head. “He gave you the dream. I had one as well, where I was forced to kill you. I was coming to look for you, when he appeared at my door.”

Her voice was so empty and he didn’t know what to say. He had no idea what to do. He was scared for a moment that her emotions were turned off, but he could still see that she was shaking in fear. He almost wished she had turned them off.

“Caroline, you don’t have to talk about it.”

She shook her head and pulled her feet up onto the couch, clinging to the bear in her arms. He wished more than anything he could hold her against his chest, and it took all of the power left in him to not reach out to her. 

“I want to show you something.”

She looked up at him in surprise, and Klaus rose from his seat. She followed him to the door and he led her down to his studio. They had been here before, but she had only seen the paintings on the walls and the rough sketches he had had scattered about. 

He immediately walked over to his desk and paused over two different sketchbooks. The one he had planned on showing her was filled with landscapes and places he had seen. He wanted to show her that there was beauty still left in the world. But that wasn’t what she needed right now. What she needed was him to let go of all his walls.

He picked up the other book and offered it to her. She took it from him and opened it up. The first sketch was a werewolf. She studied it for a moment then flipped to the next page. Her finger traced over the name.  _ Henrik _ . She studied it for a moment, then flipped again. His mother. She kept flipping, coming across faces she recognized, and then faces she didn’t. 

Her body had unconsciously settled her into a chair and Klaus watched from across the room. There was no sign of emotion on her face, just emptiness, and he let out a silent hope that the last group of pages would change that face. Would give her comfort. Would show her how he felt.

Caroline flipped the page and saw.. herself. He had drawn her. She flipped again and saw herself again. She kept flipping and saw that pages upon pages were filled with her. Her smiling, crying, with Tyler, with Elena and Bonnie, with Stefan. Every page was filled with her. She looked up at Klaus and saw him staring at her.

The mask was gone. All that was left was a vulnerable, broken man. He looked heartbroken. She realized then that her face was covered in tears, and he walked towards her slowly. She felt no fear, only relief as he got down on his knees in front of her. She could see that he was itching to touch her, but he didn’t. Instead, she reached a hand out to his cheek.

She touched him ever so softly, and Klaus began to shake. He had no idea how to control himself in this situation. He wanted to throw things. He was going to destroy Silas. Caroline began to cry harder when he looked up and she could see the unshed tears in his eyes. The only part of them that was touching was her hand on his face, and his hand went up to cover hers. She put the book to the side and caressed her thumb over his cheek. He looked up at her and shook his head.

“I’m so sorry, Caroline. I never wanted you to get hurt. I never thought, when we looked for the cure, that this would happen. I never would have hurt you like this, and I’m so sorry. I’ll do anything to make this right. I know I can’t make it not happen, but I’ll take it away. I’ll take it all away. I’ll compel you to forget, or compel you to turn it off. I’ll do anything, just tell me what I can do.”

Caroline’s eyes locked with his and he could see that she was considering it all. He would do it, too. He would give anything to see a smile on her face. To see the light back in her eyes. He would compel her to forget everything, send her to Tyler if she wanted. He would give her back the light that had been ripped from her. He had to protect her. He had to save her. He just didn’t know what else to do.

The phone that belonged to Caroline began to ring in his pocket and he looked down. He pulled it out and saw the caller ID saying Damon. Of all the times for anyone to call... He handed it to Caroline and she wiped the tears off her face as she took it. She stared at the name for a moment, then hit answer.

“Blondie, I need you to go see Klaus. Tell him to get Barbie Klaus to leave Elena alone. And have him use his witches to actually help us for once. We still have no idea where Silas is.”

Caroline locked eyes with Klaus. Neither of them had much of an emotion save for shock. She looked at her phone for a moment, then shook her head and handed it back to Klaus. “I don’t want to talk to him. None of them. Ever again.”

Klaus nodded his head and took the phone. He tried to keep his voice flat as he said, “Do not call Caroline again. You just heard her. She is done with all of you, and if any of you try to use her again, I will rip your hearts out.”

He hung up the phone, then looked up at Caroline. The tears had been wiped from her face and he wiped off his own. The moment had been lost. She was back to being empty. He had thought, for just a moment, that he could save her. That he could protect her. Protect the woman that he was in love with, but it was too late. He had failed her.

“I don’t want to forget. And I don’t want to shut it off.”

Klaus nodded his head. She was always so strong. Always in control. Even in the worst moment of her life, she wasn’t breaking down. He didn’t deserve to even be in her presence. She was far stronger than he ever was, and he was ashamed that he had ever touched her, ever caused her any grief. 

“What would you have me do?” he asked, looking down at the floor. She reached out her hand to him again and touched his cheek. He looked up at her in surprise, trying to keep the tears in his eyes from being shed. 

“I want you to kill Silas.”

Klaus nodded his head and pulled her hand from his cheek, then wrapped both of his hands around it. He locked his eyes with her, and whispered back, “I promise.”


End file.
